Honey Bee 2.5 Movie Review

On August 18, 2017 9:18 pm IST

Movies with the backdrop of films are not new to Malayalee audiences. In fact, we have seen a handful of attempts in the recent past itself. Then, what makes ‘Honey Bee 2.5’ different from the rest? Simply the fact, that the movie is shot in link with the actual shooting location of another film, which got released earlier this year. A journey through the life of an aspiring actor, ‘Honey Bee 2.5’ has successfully showcased the struggles, which the central character has undergone, in a struggling manner.

Vishnu (Askar Ali) has always wanted to enter the world of film. Well, he is not having a very conducive environment around him – something which pulls him aback from reaching his goal. Having lost some opportunities to act, Vishnu reaches the set of ‘Honey Bee 2’ in search of an opportunity. Meanwhile Kanmani (Lijo Mol), the makeup artist of actress Bhavana in the set of ‘Honey Bee 2’, lands into his life. Innocent though, her character is the one, which gives confidence to Vishnu. In fact, she is the one, who instills a fresh lease of energy in Vishnu, thereby helping him materializing his dreams.

As we are already informed that this movie is an experimental one in nature, director Shyju Anthikkad however preferred to incorporate many elements of conventional films; rather we should say ‘commercial films’. Right from the initial hours, ‘Honey Bee 2.5’ shows us that Vishnu’s character is an archetype of a struggling young man. He is from a village, he is innocent, and he belongs to a middle class family, wherein his mother and sister support his wishes. Well, he is a man, whom we have seen thousand times – both on and off the big screen.

However, it is interesting to see the journey of our hero in line with the all the prototypes, which the director has conferred him with. Yes, even with the imperfections of a rather shabby dubbing and inactive facial expressions, Askar Ali displayed all the characteristics of an amateur actor, whose actions spoke better than words. That is why the comic moments intended to evoke laugher indeed laughs you, even though the word comedy has nothing to do with it. In fact, movie actually shows you how much the makers have struggled while materializing their project. We don’t like it, but it is a damn truth, that 99 percent of aspiring actors, end up falling flat on their journey.

Meanwhile, more than the way the story is narrated, ‘Honey Bee 2.5’ needs to be applauded for the way the actors have performed. Well, we don’t need to mention about the popular faces, which are actually part of another movie. Coming to the performance of the rest (putting Askar aside, as we have mentioned it earlier), we have Lijo Mol making a strong presence felt throughout the movie. Well, we all know that she is a decent actor, for whom acting comes naturally. Lijo Mol once again did a good job in bringing life to her character. A whole lot of unknown artists appear in the movie and have made their part perfect.